Tankless water heaters have arisen to eliminate the need for large space-occupying hot water heaters in residential, commercial, and industrial applications. Typically, the tankless water heaters are located near the heated fluid disbursement location, such that the fluid is heated immediately prior to disbursement. Accordingly, tankless water heaters have been known as point-of-use water heaters, instantaneous water heaters, continuous water heaters, and on-demand water heaters, among several other names. In comparison to hot water storage tanks that only supply heated fluid in the amount stored in the tank, tankless water heaters can continuously heat fluid that flows through the heater (hence, continuous water heater).
Some known tankless water heaters include one or more conduits, one or more heating elements within the conduits, a manifold connecting the conduits in series and a controller to regulate the heating and supply process. The heating capacity of a tankless water heater will typically depend on the desired temperature, capacity, and the like. The higher the necessary heating capacity, the greater the number of conduits and heating elements that may be needed. As shown in FIG. 1 (prior art), the manifold for a typical tankless water heater is a one-piece component with the number of outputs depending on the number of conduits connecting thereto. Accordingly, for a variety of heating capacities, a tankless water heater manufacturer would need a variety of manifolds.